The Punishment of Loki
by The-stuttering-kiwi
Summary: Based more on Norse Mythology than the actual Marvel movies. Full summary inside first chapter.
1. Chapter 1

**For the blog Imagine Loki on** **Tumblr. _Imagine that after Loki killed Baldr, Odin decided that the only way to punish Loki was to take away what he loved most. Odin robbed her of her Asgardian traits, like life-span etc., and turned her into a mere mortal and banished her to Midgard. She would be born to a normal Midgardian family and would grow up amongst them, much to Loki's disgust._**

 _ **She will live a normal human life until she ages 22 Midgardian years, the equivalent of her previous age in Asgardian years. Loki must live 22 painful years without his love, watching her grow up, not knowing him and fall for other Midgardians. One day, he has enough and decides to find a way to restore her memories, but can it be that simple?**_

* * *

"Oh come on, it was only a bit of fun! I didn't really expect it would kill him!" Loki stood before Odin and the rest of the court bound in chains.

"Did you not trick Frigga into telling you the one and only thing in the universe that didn't swear to her not to harm Baldr?" Odin asked, his eye flashing angrily.

"It was just a damn sprig of mistletoe!" Loki laughed, "A fucking blind man threw it!"

"I should have known better than to listen to him." Hodur hung his head sadly, sitting beside Odin and Thor.

Loki looked around at each face in turn, amused, they weren't really going to punish him. Not really, he had done worse things than this and Odin had always gotten him out of any real trouble. He really didn't think it would work, he remembered looking at the small piece of shrub in his hand, thinking of where he found it on Midgard. Although if he had to admit it, he really hated Baldr. The great Baldr loved by everyone everywhere; it was disgusting really.

There was quiet sobbing mixed with sniffles to his left, but he couldn't bring himself to look at his wife, Sigyn. After all, there is no reason for tears. Odin would just give him a stern talking too and that would be that.

"Not only did your _trick_ kill my son, but my daughter-in-law, did you not hear when she looked upon him for the last time she dropped dead of a broken heart?"

"Isn't that a little dramatic?"

There were stunned gasps all around him.

 _Maybe you went a bit far there,_ a small voice in his head quietly.

"You truly show no remorse for what you have done then?" Odin asked, looking down at Loki.

"I really didn't think anything would happen," Loki replied as sincerely as possible.

"Very well then. Bring her here." Odin motioned to the guards.

 _Her?_

"What are you doing?" Sigyn's startled voice made Loki's head whip around, "Let me go!"

"What are you doing to her?" Loki asked, trying to keep the fear out of his voice.

"I have let you go without punishment for too long," Odin said grimly, "Although you pretend otherwise, other than your tricks, all the realms know of your love for this girl. Many showed at your wedding just to see Loki the Trickster God be wed. I don't think any punishment to you, yourself would carry such a weight as this."

"Don't you touch her." Loki snarled.

"Loki?" Sigyn tried to turn to see Loki, but the guards held her firmly in place before Odin.

"Leave her alone!"

Odin caressed her forehead while muttering, soon Sigyn's struggles against the guards became feeble.

"Where am I? What is this?!" Sigyn screamed as Odin continued.

"What are you doing to her?" Loki screamed.

Odin muttered a final spell before Sigyn stilled and fell to the floor.

"Release him," Odin said to the guards holding Loki's chains. Once free he ran to where Sigyn lay.

"Shes dead." He knew it as soon as his hands touched her, her skin had already cooled.

"Yes."

Loki let out a roar of rage and despair as he held his wife if anyone shed a tear, it was for Sigyn and Sigyn alone.

"She will be reborn," Odin said as he turned to sit on his throne.

"What?"

"She will be reborn on Midgard as a mortal, where she will live out a mortal's life, and you Loki, will watch as she is born, grows old, and dies. All without knowing who she really is, and who you are. She may fall in love, she may birth another man's children. And you will see it all."

Loki found he did not have a voice as he stared wide eyed at Odin, he was shaking so violently his muscles ached. He slowly laid Sigyn's empty shell back onto the stone floor, and stood slowly.

Without another sound, he swept from the room.

* * *

Heimdal had already known, of course, of what happened before Loki had even reached him at the rainbow bridge.

"What do you wish to see?" He asked as Loki stood beside him.

"I want to see my wife."

"Her soul is still traveling to Midgard, once there it will find a vessel to fill and Sigyn will be reborn."

Loki made a noise of disgust and waited.

A realm away on Earth the woman named Brigitte went into labor.


	2. Chapter 2

Brigitte lounged in her bed, the sun was just beginning to peak over the mountains. She already heard some of the early risers of their village beginning to stir, readying to feed their livestock. Stretching underneath the heavy fur blankets, her body hit the still sleeping body of her husband.

"Good morning little one," She whispered, rubbing her very round belly as the baby inside stirred. With her oldest child already having young children of his own and her youngest ready to be wed, this new baby came as an incredible surprise, Arne had spent three days straight drinking in celebration to the Norns that they had blessed them with another child. Brigitte secretly wished for a girl, after having four sons, while Arne like any other man wished for another strong and healthy boy. The village thought her touched by the Gods, but behind her back they did not think she would survive another birth at her age.

Arne snored loudly, his naked back toward her, littered with scars from battle, and his hands worn from his work as the village blacksmith. If she was honest, she thought her parents were mad when they told her they were to be wed. Arne was hulking and it seemed his only thoughts revolved around drinking and brawling; both things he was good at. She had her doubts that he would be a good husband and a good father, but unlike some of her friends husbands, he was not a brute when he was drunk, and he always doted on his boys and treated Brigitte with the greatest respect. They had a fiercely happy and long marriage and were content in their grandchildren when Brigitte first begun to suspect.

"It is probably just the next phase of life." The old healing woman said, and Brigitte had to agree, "Your bleeding as not come in three months, and your mother was about this age when hers stopped as well."

"What about my morning sickness, and my breasts are full and tender?"

"All just signs of the change," The healer smiled at her, "Be grateful my dear, a birth at your age now would almost certainly be a death sentence."

Brigitte walked home, very nearly convinced that she was not with child, get a nagging thought in the back of her head told her that after four pregnancies, she should know what it felt like.

It was a month later when she first felt the baby flutter in her belly. She sat by her husband's side as they ate dinner with their sons and their families when she let out a startled gasp.

"Brigitte, what is it?" Arne had asked, dropping his fork on the wooden table.

"I think…I think I am with child after all." She stuttered, smiling excitedly.

Arne had taken her happily that night once they had returned home, and the next day brought the old cradle down from the loft and set it close to the fireplace. Brigitte set to mending baby clothes that she had not had the heart to throw away, and though some she had given to her grandchildren, she had enough to get her by for a while at least.

Lost in her thoughts she had not realized Arne had stopped snoring, with a sleepy sigh he rolled over and placed a large gnarled hand on her belly, to which the baby inside responded with a vigorous kick.

"He is strong today," He said, smiling at Brigitte's belly.

"How do you know it is not a girl?"

"I don't, but I've been right so far, have I not?"

"Only the Norns know for sure husband, don't be so careless as to think you know more than they do."

"Still, with five boys, it's quite the legacy to leave behind."

They talked quietly for a long while then, half listening to the world wake around them, Arne rubbing her belly softly.

"I'm starving, I'll go make us some food." Arne declared, getting up and pulling on a pair of pants. "I'll go see if the chickens have any eggs this morning!" He called back up the stairs. Eggs had been Brigitte's favorite food this time around.

Getting up was rather difficult, but Brigitte managed it, she was just getting her balance when her water broke.

"Arne!" She yelled, "Arne!"

"What is it?" He hollered back.

"I think it's time you go and get the midwives! Oh and healer Jutta!"

There was a thunderous noise as he ran up the stairs, his face bright, "Is it time?"

"If my experience has told me anything, I dare say it is."

Brigitte had had relatively easy births in the past, and had no real concern about this one, no matter what anyone else said.

But as the midwives, healers, and her daughters-in-law surrounded her, she began to feel quite fearful. With each contraction, she realized that a scores of women, many much younger than her had died giving birth to their children, and any woman near her age it was almost unheard of that they would survive the ordeal. The room was full of her heavy breathing and pained sounds while the others chanted words of protection over Brigitte and the baby.

She found herself, between periods of agony, praying to the goddess's Freyja and Frigga to make sure her baby would be born safely.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity, the baby came into the waiting arms of one of the midwives, everyone was silent as they waited for the baby to make its first cry.

" _She is born," Heimdal said in a deep voice, placing a hand on Loki's shoulder so he too, could see the new baby._

Brigitte let out a sigh of relief when the baby began to cry in earnest,

"It's a girl!" Jutta declared.

"Oh, finally!" Brigitte sighed, while the women around her laughed, "Give her here."

 _Loki looked away as the baby began to nurse and the midwives cleaned her with warm rags._

" _I've seen enough." He shook Heimdal's hand off of him and headed back to the palace._

 _He headed straight for his and Sigyn's chambers, lodgings which Odin had given him, much to everyone's surprise. His path took him past the feasting hall where Thor and Sif sat, along with their two children, and regret squeezed his insides._

 _Sigyn had wanted babies, she had told him so from the very beginning, but he felt like he had too many things that he wanted to do, and none of those things involved smelly, sticky, loud little brats. But seeing Thor with his children and watching Sigyn be born, he couldn't help but feel like he had missed out, and in return made Sigyn miserable by not giving her what she wanted._

 _Realizing that Thor had seen him staring he continued down the hall, but not before Thor caught up with him._

" _I hope you aren't planning any kind of retaliation. It is not like you have any wives left that can take the fall for you." He taunted._

" _Shut it, golden boy." Loki snarled._

" _If it makes you feel any better I argued with father not to do this to Sigyn. Why should she take the fall for you, why should she be punished? If I had it my way, I would have you chained to a rock, in the deepest, darkest cave. With only a snake to keep you company. Sounds fitting doesn't it?"_

 _Loki said nothing but picked up his pace to get away from Thor._

" _It's a shame, we all warned her about you. But no, she just had to have you, she didn't care what we said, she saw something different in you. Even after Hoder told us it was you that tricked him into killing Baldr, she stood by you. You had the most magnificent woman in all the realms as your wife and do you see what you did to her?"_

 _Thor's taunting followed Loki all the way to the door of his chambers, once he entered them he slammed the door shut in Thor's face causing the entire palace to quake._

It was now nine day's since Brigitte had given birth to the couples only little girl, and she felt like she had only just begun to recover. Arne had only seen the baby a handful of times, until today. A feast was laid out in the rooms below, and all their friends from the village gathered to see the new baby.

Carefully, Brigitte gathered her precious bundle in her arms and joined everyone downstairs. A hush fell over the house as she handed the baby to Arne who sat in the highchair of their house, and watched as he placed the bundle on his knee, and motioned for the village elder to come and sprinkle water one the babies head.

"What is she to be called?" The ancient man asked, looking from Arne to Brigitte.

"Sigyn," Brigitte answered ignoring the fact that no one in their ancestral line had had a name even close to that, but the elder didn't seem to be bothered.

"Why Sigyn?" Arne whispered as everyone gathered to present gifts and offerings to the Sigyn.

"I don't know, it just seems right," Brigitte replied simply.

Shrugging Arne turned back to the people, thanking them for their gifts, and laughing when people asked if they were going to have any more children.

A strange cloaked man was next in line, Brigitte had never seen him in the village before, and had traveled often to the next closest ones that she knew he was a stranger in these parts.

"Who are you?" Arne asked suspiciously.

"Just a traveler, I heard from a group of people that a new baby was to be christened today while I stopped to get water from the well. I decided I had to pay my respects." He said bowing.

Arne and Brigitte looked to one another, unsure how to take this strange man.

He reached into his traveling cloak and produced a long silver chain with a pendant on it, which when Brigitte took it, realized it was an elegantly twisted snake.

"Isn't this-" She looked up, but the man was gone.

"Where did he go?" Arne too was busy looking at the necklace and didn't notice he had left either.

Thinking he must have just slipped into the crowd, Brigitte and Arne tried to put the strange man out of their minds and enjoyed the rest of the celebration.


	3. Chapter 3

Loki watched on as Sigyn grew bigger every day. His heart leapt when he saw her take her first steps, and speak her first words. He watched her learn from her mother how to cook and sew and watched as she sometimes helped her father in his blacksmith shop. Her brothers sometimes had her come and help their children gather food from the fields.

He was terrified when Sigyn was about ten years old; a sudden and violent illness swept over their village and her entire family fell ill. His heart broke for her when her mother died. He hated seeing her sob as they placed Brigitte into the wooden boats on the lake, and the sound of her wailing stayed with him as they lit the boats.

As Sigyn reached her teen years, Loki noticed the day when she looked more and more like she had on Asgard. Her long black hair was almost always tied back with a small strip of leather, and her dresses showed off her curves. It wasn't surprising when the other boys began to follow after her, causing Loki to tremble with jealousy. But Sigyn didn't pay much attention to them; between helping her older brother with his five-year-old child after his wife died the same time as their mother and spending time with her best friend Luzia, she just couldn't be bothered

It was a happy day when her brother Viktor remarried; the woman's husband had left her because of her inability to have children, and she was excited to be wanted and needed, and to mother a child.

"So what are you doing to do with all of your free time?" Luzia asked as they swam lazily in the river just south of their village.

"Oh, I don't know, what do people even do with free time?"

"There are the boys," Luzia said laying her head back into the water, letting her blonde hair bloom in the water.

At sixteen, most girls were getting married and starting to have babies of their own, but Sigyn and Luzia weren't in any hurry.

"I am not exactly ready to be having babies."

"Me neither," the blonde haired girl agreed.

They swam for a few more hours, then shivered and giggled as they slipped their dresses on over their wet bodies. Sigyn fiddled with the clasp of her necklace, the snake pendant now joined by her mother's wedding band and headed back to the village.

Sigyn could hear her father's booming voice as he approached the house, and she hurried to ladle soup into the bowls sitting on the table. She was surprised when the door swung open that he wasn't alone.

"Sigyn! I hope you made enough food for tonight, we have a guest," Arne said happily, pointing to a boy who followed him into their home. He was only a hair shorter than her father, with a mop of curly blond hair, with blue eyes that matched the color of the river on clear days. She was surprised that her heart sped up.

"This is Xaver. He is from the village at the coast, and their blacksmith already has an apprentice. Seeing as how I don't, I offered him to come and learn from me," Arne explained while Sigyn laid out another bowl. She was well aware of Xaver's eyes on her, which she found she didn't mind as much as she had the other boys.

"Welcome to our home, Xaver," Sigyn said warmly.

Xaver smiled in return. "I am glad to be in the company of such a pretty young lady."

Arne's eyes twinkled as he watched the chemistry spark. "As am I!"

 _Loki stood horrified as Heimdal kept his hand on his shoulder. He tried to convince himself that Sigyn's face didn't flush when she looked at the big blonde oaf... Very much the same way she had when they first met at his name day on Asgard._

 _But there was nothing as he could do, as the days, months, and years continued relentlessly._

"You had a group of people at your house last night." Sigyn and Luzia walked down to the market stalls together, baskets swinging in their hands.

"Yeah…that would be the family of my soon to be husband," Luzia replied grimly.

"What?" Sigyn stopped dead in her tracks.

"Oh, I don't know, Sigyn. Maybe it's a good thing. I'm almost 21 now…I can't live with my parents forever…and I am just a burden staying with them. And don't think I don't know what they say about us for that matter. That we are going to die, old maids, that there must be something wrong with us that no man wants us."

"But that's not fair."

"It's not, but that's how it is."

Sigyn thought of Xaver, and their stolen kisses when no one was looking. Part of her hoped that he would ask her father to marry her. When he first came to live with them, he had told her he wanted to wait to be properly trained in a skill before taking a wife, to be sure he could support her. Maybe he just wasn't ready?

"You will still be here right?" Sigyn asked, afraid of the answer.

"My father and brother are helping him build a house on the edge of the village…as part of my dowry."

"Well…that is one good thing."

They finished their shopping in silence. Sigyn needed new bolts of cloth to make a few new shirts for her father, and the dress she was wearing now was beyond mending. Luzia needed to place an order for more meat and bread that her family's ovens and larders could not support for the upcoming wedding.

"You will be my maid of honor right?" Luzia asked on their way back.

"Of course!" Sigyn tried to sound happy.

"Good. My mother will make your dress; she will need you for the fittings as soon as possible. The wedding is next week."

"Next week? You didn't tell me that!"

"I keep trying to forget it's that soon."

Sigyn hugged her friend tightly before she continued on her way home.

It seemed like Sigyn had only slept one night before she found herself standing with her best friend as she was married to her new husband. The following days were a blur as the village celebrated with what seemed like a continuous feast that had an endless flow of ale.

She was relieved when she was able to go to bed one night and know when she woke up the next morning things would be back to normal.

"You don't look very good, Father." Sigyn thought her father looked rather pale as he took his place at the table for breakfast.

"We have had a few wild days. It just takes me a bit longer to recover is all," he smiled warmly at her.

Sigyn only nodded, trying to ignore the worry that was gnawing at her gut.

"Xaver is almost done with this training I think," Arne said between bits of egg.

"Really?" she wondered why he hadn't mentioned it.

"I am thinking of giving the shop over to him."

"Really?" Sigyn was surprised.

"I am not getting any younger, and he needs a place in the world. Why not?"

"I think it's a good idea."

They finished their breakfast. As he left, Arne kissed the top on Sigyn's head, promising to be home for dinner.

Sigyn went through her day, cleaning the dishes from breakfast and bringing in wood for the fire. She went out to feed their small coup of chickens and tended to their garden that lay behind their home. Scrubbing the dirt from her fingers in the wash basin, Sigyn nearly jumped out of her skin when Xaver burst into the main room of the house.

"It's your father, you have to come now." He was breathless and his face was very red. Sigyn felt her heart jump into her throat as she grabbed his hand and ran with him down the dirt path.

When they reached the blacksmith furnace where her father worked, most of the villagers had already turned up in such a grouping Sigyn couldn't see her father. She and Xaver pushed their way through to see the healer kneeling next to her father, who lay limp on the ground.

"Sigyn," the healer began when he saw her.

"What happened?" She knew already; as she stared at the body on the ground, she couldn't see the rise and fall of his chest. But her mind refused to accept it.

"He complained of not feeling well. I offered to go and get the cart to take him home, but…but I hardly got the words out before he just…dropped," Xaver said, his voice breaking.

Sigyn could barely hold herself together as her father's body was prepared and laid out in the funeral boat; thankfully, Xaver was close by when her legs buckled when the fire was lit.

It seemed amazing to her that the next thing she remembered was sitting at her table with her eldest brother. She wasn't listening until her mind was focused on a knot in the pine of the back wall until she realized her brother was looking at her expectantly.

"Did you hear me?" he asked.

"No, sorry."

"I said Xaver came to me…he asked if I would give my blessing for you and him to be married."

"What do you think?"

"I think it would be a good match. Not that I don't mind at all if you were to come and stay with us, " he added hastily, "But as he is taking over father's blacksmith shop, and then this way we can pass this house down to him…you would like to stay here, right?"

Sigyn nodded; she thought her voice would betray her. She knew she should be happy, but it didn't seem right without her father being gone.

"Well then, you have my blessing. You should still come and stay with us until everything is settled."

 _Loki stopped listening but kept his eyes focused on Sigyn, not believing that she had agreed to marry the blonde haired boy. But of course, she didn't remember him and only thought of Loki as an untouchable God, not the man she was once married too._

" _Something the matter?" Odin's smug voice came from behind him._

" _Sigyn is getting married," Loki's voice lacked emotion._

" _How nice for her," the old man sounded almost gleeful._

 _To avoid choking the life out of Odin's body, he brushed passed him, knocking a shoulder into the old son of a bitch as hard as he could. Loki was sure his heavy footfalls vibrated all of Asgard as he stormed to his chambers._

 _He couldn't let Sigyn marry that blonde oaf he had to do something. And he had to do it now._


	4. Chapter 4

Sigyn tried to sleep, but being wedged on a narrow bed with her two young nieces made it difficult. She found herself excited about her impending marriage to Xaver, and in the early hours of the morning, still wide awake she was making plans.

Luzia would be her matron of honor, that wasn't negotiable, she would wear her mother's wedding gown, her older brother would give her away (a lump formed in her throat), and she knew their wedding feast would last for days, so an abundance of food was a must.

She was the first one down to the kitchens that morning, she ventured outside to gather eggs from the coup (and received some nasty sidelong glares from its occupants, they didn't approve of the hour) and set to making breakfast. Luzia would be getting up soon, and she wanted her best friend there when she went to the market stalls to put the orders in for food.

"I'm so glad you were able to get away," Sigyn said to Luzia as they walked the well-worn path down the hub of their village, "I have no idea how to do this."

"It's not as hard as it sounds," Luzia assured her.

By the end of their trip, they had ordered hundreds of loaves of bread, dozens of pies and cakes, and what seemed like half of the village's livestock.

"I hear that someone is getting married." A man called from a stall, set away from the others.

"Yes, that would be me," Sigyn replied she had never seen the man before, and it was very rare for a stranger to set up shop in a place he was not familiar with.

"Perhaps then you would be interested in what I have to offer?" he gestured to the flowers that covered the stalls of his shop.

"Usually, the bride's flowers come from the gardens of the village," Luzia said suspiciously, eyeing the strange flowers, "What are these? I don't think they are grown around here."

"They are only found near my home."

Sigyn could have sworn she had seen him before, but couldn't place where. His long black hair was tied back with a simple leather strap and she noticed that his green eyes hadn't moved away from her.

"I think we are set on flowers." Sigyn fidgeted with her hands.

The man waved a hand, "No offence taken, but here, take one of these, as a way of congratulations on your marriage." He held a dark red flower on a long stem out to her, "It's called a Dahlia."

Sigyn thanked him quietly and took the flower, and almost instantly felt lightheaded.

" _I have been warned about you, Loki God of Mischief,"_ _Sigyn said in a light voice, smiling at the dark haired boy following her as she walked the pathways in the gardens of Asgard._

" _Oh? And what have they to say?" Loki's greens eyes flashed as he smirked._

" _That all you care about is playing games and making people miserable. And you are in no way a fit husband for anyone."_

 _She had heard this almost non-stop ever since she first told her best friend about her crush, but she didn't care. Sigyn had to have him._

" _Hmmm," He put a finger to his lips, deep in thought, "That maybe so, but I think I could be a fit husband for someone." He smiled widely._

"Sigyn are you okay?" Luzia shook her shoulder.

"What?" Sigyn felt dazed and slightly nauseous.

"You were miles away." Luzia looked concerned, the strange man looked at Sigyn with curiosity.

"It…was nothing."

"You should go home and rest, it would be a shame for something to happen to you right before the wedding." The man smiled at her, a smile that seemed all too familiar….

Sigyn opened her mouth to speak but Luzia cut her off, "That's a good idea." And pulled her away.

"I don't like him," Luzia said when they were out of earshot.

"Why?"

"I don't know…something about him. I don't like the way he looks at you either."

"Oh, it's probably nothing."

They walked in silence for a while.

"So where did you go?"

"What do you mean?"

"Sigyn, you just stood there for almost two minutes, staring."

"Oh, I don't know…" She wondered if she should tell her friend about what she saw…about how the strange man was in her head when he handed her the flower; about how they seemed to be walking in a place, her parents told her about in fairy tales.

"If you say so." Luzia looked at her, clearly not convinced. "Look…just be careful okay?"

"I will," Sigyn said goodbye to Luzia as she ducked into her brother's house, thinking her best friend was clearly just over reacting.

* * *

"I hear this is a good spot to fish." A familiar voice made Sigyn's hair stand on end, which was saying something given the cool breeze coming off the river.

"It is." Sigyn said glancing at him, she couldn't help but think about the vision she had had a few days ago.

"Maybe if I catch enough, I'll send some to your wedding feast." He cast out a line.

"That would be kind of you." Sigyn looked at her baskets, she had only managed to bring in five large trout. She would need a lot more than that to feed the village, not including Xaver's people.

Within a few minutes, he had filled his basket and was bringing in another large fish.

"Are you using magic or something?" Sigyn laughed.

"Just lucky I guess," He handed her the basket, "I couldn't even begin to eat all these."

Sigyn thanked him and reached for the handle.

"Oh!" She let out a gasp when their fingers touched.

" _Are you happy?" Loki asked Sigyn as they danced in the middle of the golden hall._

" _I don't think they have invented a word for how I feel. Happy seems insignificant." Sigyn said beaming, the skirts of her wedding gown swirled as Loki twirled her around the room._

" _I know what you mean." Loki placed a kiss on her lips as the crowd around them erupted into cheers._

" _They can't believe it can they? The trickster god, tamed." She whispered in his ear._

" _I don't think they can."_

 _The song ended and Loki reached a hand to touch the pendant at the base of Sigyn's throat, the very same that he wore, "I love you, Sigyn."_

"Are you okay?"

"What?"

"You look like you are about to fall over." The man had the same look on his face that he had the other day.

"I'm fine." Sigyn shook her head, her hand went to the pendant at her neck. The same on she had just seen in her vision.

"I think I should head back now." She began to wind up her line and picked up her baskets.

"I'll walk with you, you've gotten rather pale." Something in his face told her he was disappointed about something.

He didn't try to speak with her for most of their walk, and Sigyn was determined to not speak than more than absolutely necessary. That was until something caught your eye.

"Our pendants match!" She said when she caught sight of his necklace swinging with each step he took.

"I had noticed that," He replied simply. Sigyn's hand went to her neck and began to fidget with the pendant; fingers tracing the swirling, tangled snakes.

"Do you know what it's a symbol of?" He asked.

"No…my parents said someone brought it as a gift when I was nine days old. They didn't know who he was."

He chuckled, "Well some people say it's the symbol of Loki."

"Loki? The Trickster?"

"That's the one."

"Seems to be a strange gift for a child."

"Children sometimes get into mischief, no?"

"Yes they do, still it is strange." Sigyn walked a few more paces, "I've never seen anyone else have this pendant before. We have merchants that pass through here sometimes and even they don't have it for sale."

"Not many people would wear the symbol of someone who is such an annoyance to the gods."

Sigyn had a notion of taking the necklace off, but she had been wearing it for as long as she could remember.

The man seemed to sense her discomfort, "I wouldn't worry about it, though, if the gods seem fit to forgive Loki, they can see fit to forgive a couple of fools for wearing a pendant."

Sigyn swallowed hard and nodded, and said a quick goodbye as she reached her brother's home.

Luzia was right, the man was weird. And the visions she had been weirder, that she had married the god Loki in the palace of Asgard. She tried to ignore the fact that the man looked exactly like Loki….and that they both wore the same pendants. Her stomach churned uncomfortably.

No.

She would stay far away from him as she could, and push the thoughts of those visions or whatever they were out of her mind.

Besides, she had a wedding to prepare for.


	5. Chapter 5

_Thanks to commanderlexatrash, draki k7, Paula Galtarocha, and Ars3n1c for the reviews!_

* * *

The day was here! The village was gathered plus almost the entirety of Xaver's village. Sigyn's first thought when she walked down the aisle was if they had enough food to feed all these people.

The second was how handsome Xaver looked, dressed in his best clothes. Her heart leapt when she saw his eyes fill with tears when he saw her come into view. Her sister-in-law had skillfully fitted Sigyn's mothers dress to her body so it hung in all the right places; for the first time in her life, she felt beautiful. Her brother walked beside her, arms linked, and although she was grateful, she wished it was her father.

She tried to ignore the fact that with each step the scene around her flashed with the present and another world that seemed like a dream, where Xaver was replaced with Loki, and the people around them clad is golden cloth, everything was shimmering, to the seemingly dull bright day along the river. Sigyn tried to keep herself from searching the crowd for _him,_ and focused her mind and energy on Xaver, willing the visions away.

Reaching the alter, she handed her bouquet to Luzia, and that was when she realized there was a single dahlia flower in the center of a sea of daisies….

She wanted to rush the priest, to get to the good part of the ceremony, she couldn't wait to promise to join her life with Xaver, and when his voice broke as he recited his vows, she knew he couldn't either.

Sigyn and Xaver had shared many kisses before this one, but this time, it was entirely different; she could feel it in her toes.

"I love you." Sigyn didn't know how much one's face could hurt from smiling so widely.

"I love you too,"

* * *

Sigyn never thought they would ever get through greeting all their guests but somehow they managed. When they finally sat down to eat the food was already barely warm, but Sigyn didn't mind; she was having the time of her life.

"Are you happy?" Xaver asked, his fingers laced with Sigyn's as they sat at the head table, watching couples dance.

"It seems impossible for me to say so…since father has only been gone a month, but I am," she replied sincerely, raising his hand to her lips.

"I am glad," he stood and pulled her to her feet and led her out amongst the crowd. She pressed her body against his, desperate to feel as much contact as she could; as they began to twirl, her stomach churned as Xaver's face was once again replaced with Loki's as they danced in the Palace hall of Asgard.

She shook her head to return to the present.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing; maybe too much to drink and not enough water."

"We will have to fix that. We can't have you bowing out of the festivities too early."

 _Too early._

Luzia had told her what to expect that night when they were getting dressed, not that she needed telling, but Luzia felt bad that Sigyn's mother wasn't there to tell her like her mother had.

"It's not all bad," she had said while lacing up Sigyn's dress, "I mean, you get used to it after a while and it can actually be kind of fun."

"It doesn't look like fun." Sigyn had seen animals mate before. Growing up in a farming community gave one the firsthand view of where life comes from and how babies are made, as she told Luzia.

Luzia laughed, "It's nothing like that at all, you'll see."

They danced for what seemed like hours and the moon was high in the dark sky when Xaver finally mentioned he was ready to head to the house for the night.

Heart beating wildly, Sigyn said goodnight to her family and to Luzia, who gave her a wink and an encouraging smile. Cheers erupted when the front door closed.

"A little nerve wracking when everyone knows what comes next, eh?" Xaver nudged her, and to her relief he looked about as nervous as she felt.

She followed him quietly up the stairs and into the main bedroom.

"Oh wow." Sigyn gasped. This had once been her parents' room, but it looked nothing like it had before. Xaver had added his own personal touch to the log walls, and the blanket that had covered her parents' bed that the women in her mother's family had painfully stitched for months, now hung on the wall above the head of the bed. It also seemed Xaver had had someone stitch hers and his blankets together.

"You told me you wanted to keep your blanket because your mother made it, but it's much too small for the both of us, so I had Luzia do this for us."

"It's perfect! I love it."

"Do you need help?" he motioned to the intricate laces and buttons holding her dress to her body.

Sigyn nodded, and as his fingers set to work, she remembered how gnarled her father's hands were the last year or two, and now he often would have trouble with a simple fork and spoon.

How long before Xaver's hands became that way?

"What are you thinking about?" he murmured as he quickly made short work of the dress.

"Just that we should enjoy the good use of your hands while we can," she replied, blushing.

Xaver chuckled and ran his strong fingers down her spine, following the dress as it slid down and off her body.

"The only person to see me naked has been Luzia," Sigyn blathered. Her breath got caught in her throat as she felt the feather light kisses on her skin, starting on one shoulder and trailing to the other.

" _Are you sure you are okay?" Loki asked as he stood in front of her. Her legs shook, either out of nervousness or because of all the dancing… maybe a bit of both she thought._

" _Of course I'm okay." She reached out her hands and tugged at the hem of Loki's shirt, pulling it over his head and off his arms. Tracing the lines of his torso she heard his breathing become heavier as her fingers trailed to the band of his pants; she slid a finger underneath and smirked at him, enjoying how wide his eyes got._

" _Something wrong?" She asked lightly, as her finger dipped further down._

 _A growl erupted deep in Loki's chest. He gathered her up in his arms, her legs wrapping around his waist, and carried her to the bed. She loved the sensation of his skin and the roughness of the fabric of his pants on the bareness of her thighs._

 _Dropping her on the soft mattress, he covered her body with his, and propped up on his long arms, he covered her with kisses. She moved her hips upward to meet his; she had waited much too long for this._

" _When are you going to lose those pants?" She asked, seizing a break in his kisses to nip at his neck. She could feel liquid heat, the swirling and surging grow low in her belly; she kept as much of her body touching his as she could as she simply couldn't get enough._

" _When I'm ready," he whispered back, shifting his weight to one arm, as the other traveled feather light down the length of her body, finally coming to the tender skin of her inner thigh, where his fingers danced, teasing._

 _Sigyn moaned, moving her hips in hopes his hand would move to where she needed him to be. After a few moments, he finally obliged and slid one long elegant finger inside her. It takes long for her body to adjust to the invasion, and Sigyn brought Loki's face toward hers for long kisses as his hand continued to work on her._

" _Can we please, get rid of those pants now?" She was breathless and flushed; she had been patient enough._

 _With a wave of a hand, Loki used his magic to rid himself of the offending clothes, and readied himself. Her fingernails dug into his back as he slid into her and they both gasped out loud. She already knew within a few moments that it would not take long for her, and with Loki's movements becoming more frantic she knew he would not last long either. Her body felt on fire with him moving inside her, and she had never felt more perfect and at one with the universe in her whole life._

" _Are you okay?" Loki asked as she lay on his chest after, listening to his heartbeat finally begin to slow._

" _I'm perfect." She snuggled closer to him, desperate not to break more contact with him than she could possibly avoid._

" _I love you so much, Sigyn."_

" _I love you too," Sigyn blinked her eyes sleepily, and when she opened them…_

She found herself covered under her blanket with Xaver wrapped around her, with no memory of how she got there.

* * *

The noise had finally died down outside, but inside her room the noise was deafening. Sliding out from under Xaver's arm, she slid a simple dress over her head, and wrapped a cloak around her body. She needed air and she needed to move. Her feet seemed to know where to go even if she didn't, because in no time she found herself at the river. The sky had turned from black to a light pink in her travels and the sun was just now peaking over the mountains, bugs danced on the water surface and water splashed as the fish below jumped towards the sky to meet them.

But Sigyn wasn't alone…

"Who the hell are you?" The figure had his back to her, but she knew who he was.

"Sigyn?" He asked as he turned to face her.

"Who are you?" She asked again.

"Do you remember?"

"It's not fair! I should remember my wedding night with my husband, my actual husband, and not whatever visions these are that you put in my head!" Sigyn yelled at him, ignoring the hurt look on his face, "Who are you?!"

"My name is Loki, God of Lies and Mischief and you, Sigyn, are my wife."


	6. Chapter 6

Sigyn opened and closed her mouth several times but no sound came out.

"You are insane." She finally managed, "I married Xaver, I love him."

"I know, but before this," Loki gestured around him, "you were married to me, you were a goddess of Asgard; we were in love."

Sigyn shook her head, "You are insane, I don't know who the hell you think you are but this is not happening." She turned and started to leave.

"Those aren't visions, they are memories." He called after her, Sigyn stopped dead in her tracks, "you didn't have them until I came here. How else do you explain it?"

"Nerves before a wedding?" She snapped shrugging her shoulders.

"I know you are not as stupid to believe that."

"How am I supposed to be married to you? A god, if that's who you are, I still say you are stark raving mad."

"Would you like me to prove it to you?" He didn't wait for an answer, and with a wave of a long-fingered hand, caused the flowers at their feet begin to bloom. Sigyn stared open mouthed.

"Okay…" she began slowly, "How am I supposed to believe you then, god of lies?"

"I have never once been able to lie to you; you always saw right through me. Which is one of the reasons everyone said we were made for one another."

"This is insanity." Sigyn shook her head violently causing her cloak of fall from her bare arms, Loki took several quick steps forward and grabbed her by the shoulders to hold her still.

It was as if something inside her stirred awake when his hands touched her skin; she had once seen how quickly a fire could overtake an entire field of crops and how intensely she could feel the heat even though she was safe in her home. This was nothing close to that, but it was the only thing she could think of. It took a moment for her to realize she had her hands tangled in his long black hair and was kissing him with more passion than she had ever felt in her entire life.

"Oh!" She squealed when they broke apart, another instinct took over, this one caused her to slap him with as much strength as she could muster.

This didn't seem to faze him, "You remember don't you?"

"I have to go." She untangled himself from Loki.

"Sigyn, you remember!"

"I have to go!" She yelled as she ran as fast as her legs could carry her, toward the sound of the stirring village, and away from the god still calling out for her.

* * *

"Where have you been?" Xaver asked when she burst through the door.

Regretting the fact that she had not taken the time to catch her breath she simply shrugged, "Just making sure we have enough food for the day, we all ate a lot last night."

Xaver raised his eyebrows, "Out of breath just from all that?"

"I wanted to try and make it back before you woke up."

Xaver considered her, but seemed to believe her and motioned for her to sit on his lap, "You didn't say much last night, is everything okay?"

 _Oh, you mean other than not remembering my wedding night with my husband and being able to feel another man on me?_

"Of course, just tired." Sigyn hoped her smile would have him convinced, but she could tell by his face he wasn't…but he decided to let it go.

It was another long night of feasting and dancing but this time, when she and Xaver left to go home they were not followed by giggles and crude jokes. She was relieved that when Xaver laid on top of her she could feel him move inside of her, and it was Xaver moans that filled her senses and not Loki; and when they finally came together she held on to him for dear life, afraid that someone would rip them apart.

Their hushed voices became quiet as they fell asleep, their hold on each other slackening slightly, all Sigyn could hear was the lullaby of his heart beat.

" _Loki what did you do?" Sigyn reached to tug his sleeve, but a guards rough hands pulled her away. It killed her to see him bound in chains._

" _I didn't think anything would happen! What kind of god could be killed by a sprig of mistletoe?"_

" _Odin won't let you go without punishment this time, not after Baldr…and Nana." Sigyn thought of her friend, who died of a broken heart._

" _Don't worry my love, Odin won't do anything like always." Loki said confidently, as the court filed in and a very livid looking Odin and Thor took their seats._

 _There was a long pregnant pause…_

" _Well?" Odin demanded._

" _Oh come on, it was only a bit of fun! I didn't really expect it would kill him!" Loki stood before Odin and the rest of the court bound in chains._

" _Did you not trick Frigga into telling you the one and only thing in the universe that didn't swear to her not to harm Baldr?" Odin asked, his eye flashing angrily._

" _It was just a damn sprig of mistletoe!" Loki laughed, "A fucking blind man threw it!"_

" _I should have known better than to listen to him." Hodur hung his head sadly, sitting beside Odin and Thor._

 _Loki looked around at each face, in turn, amused, they weren't really going to punish him. Not really, he had done worse things than this and Odin had always gotten him out of any real trouble. He really didn't think it would work, he remembered looking at the small piece of shrub in his hand, thinking of where he found it on Midgard. Although if he had to admit it, he really hated Baldr. The great Baldr loved by everyone everywhere; it was disgusting really._

 _There was quiet sobbing mixed with sniffles to his left, but he couldn't bring himself to look at his wife, Sigyn. After all, there is no reason for tears. Odin would just give him a stern talking too and that would be that._

" _Not only did your_ _trick_ _kill my son, but my daughter-in-law, did you not hear when she looked upon him for the last time she dropped dead of a broken heart?"_

" _Isn't that a little dramatic?"_

 _There were stunned gasps all around him._

 _Maybe you went a bit far there,_ _a small voice in his head quietly._

" _You truly show no remorse for what you have done then?" Odin asked, looking down at Loki._

" _I really didn't think anything would happen," Loki replied as sincerely as possible._

" _Very well then. Bring her here." Odin motioned to the guards._

 _Her?_

" _What are you doing?" Sigyn's startled voice made Loki's head whip around, "Let me go!"_

" _What are you doing to her?" Loki asked, trying to keep the fear out of his voice._

" _I have let you go without punishment for too long," Odin said grimly, "Although you pretend otherwise, other than your tricks, all the realms know of your love for this girl. Many showed at your wedding just to see Loki the Trickster God be wed. I don't think any punishment to you, yourself would carry such a weight as this."_

" _Don't you touch her." Loki snarled._

" _Loki?" Sigyn tried to turn to see Loki, but the guards held her firmly in place before Odin._

" _Leave her alone!"_

 _Odin caressed her forehead while muttering, soon Sigyn's struggles against the guards became feeble._

" _Where am I? What is this?!" Sigyn screamed as Odin continued._

" _What are you doing to her?" Loki screamed._

 _Odin muttered a final spell before Sigyn stilled and fell to the floor._

Sigyn clasped a hand to her mouth to keep from screaming, she was covered in a cold sweat and was shaking. It took her a good long minute to realize she was safe with Xaver. Slipping out of bed she pulled a dress over her head and snuck from the house.

* * *

"It was your fault." Loki's back was toward her, she could see his shoulders slump when she asked the question.

"Yes."

"I was murdered and it was your fault."

"I didn't think…"

"Why are you here?" She interrupted.

"To bring you home."

"I am home."

"No, home with me to Asgard."

"Even if I wanted to go, how could I?"

"With this," He reached into his cloak pocket and pulled out an apple and handed it to Sigyn, "It's a golden apple, you probably heard about them in stories- but they are real. And if you eat this, you'll be immortal again."

Sigyn turned the fruit over in her hands, it felt heavy…too heavy.

"Loki…"

"You remember us, I know you do. And I know that even if it feels strange now once you are home it will be alright." She could feel his breath on her face, and it caused something inside her to stir and surge awake; like it was trying to claw itself free from her, and she wasn't sure she wanted that to happen. He touched the pendant at the base of her neck, the match to the one he wore, "I made this for you only a couple weeks after we met at my name day celebration. You were so beautiful…I knew then that I was made for you. I love you so much, I thought I lost you forever," He pressed a kiss to her forehead, and she allowed herself to melt into him; his smell seemed so familiar to the stranger inside of her.

"I need to go."

"Sigyn-"

"I can't just leave them."

Loki nodded, " I understand, you'll come back."

"I'll come back."

* * *

"Xaver wake up! Wake up!" Sigyn shook her husband as hard as she could.

"Whats wrong?" He looked around wildly.

"I need you to go and get Luzia and the village priest and quickly please."

Xaver opened his mouth as though he was about to ask why, but just got out of bed and ran out of the house.

As soon as everyone sat with Sigyn around the wooden table, she took a deep breath and told them everything. Starting with how Loki had brought the necklace to her parents when she was born to when they met before the wedding to just before at the river's edge. The others sat open mouthed as she spoke.

"How does this Loki intend to get you back to Asgard? You are mortal after all." The priest asked, and his eyes widened as Sigyn placed the golden skinned apple on the table.

"Impossible." He gasped as he took the apple and held it in his hands.

"What is it?" Luzia whispered.

"It gives immortality." The priest said without much other explanation but looked at Sigyn, "You know, I thought it was interesting the day your mother named you, you don't normally see parents name their children after gods or goddesses, but I didn't say anything."

"What do you mean?"

"Sigyn is the known name of the wife of Loki. Priests have heard that her soul was banished for the punishment of Loki. It may just be that that soul found a vessel when you were born."

"How can you possibly know all this?" Xaver asked rather rudely.

"We make it our business to know." The priest replied indignantly.

"How do we even know this is all real?"

"I suppose the true test would be to take a bite of the apple."

"But that would be Sigyn would have to want to leave. Sigyn? Do you want to go with him?" Xaver asked quietly.

Sigyn wrapped her arms around Xaver and started to sob, "I love you, I think I knew that ever since father brought you home, and you have been one of the only things that have made it bearable when he died. But I feel like I'm being ripped in two…like there's a stranger inside of me who knows who he is. I love you…but…" Sobs overtook her voice, and the stranger inside of her recoiled as Xaver held her.

After a long while, he finally let her go, "If being with him is what will make you happy then I want you to do it." Sigyn opened her mouth to speak, "No, I mean it, the thought of you staying here and feeling lost would kill me. I don't ever want to do that to you." He stood and motioned to the others, "Let's give her some time to think."

Sigyn sat alone, staring at her reflection in the golden skin of the apple, feeling more lost than ever.


	7. Chapter 7

"Mama! Mama!" Sigyn could hear the small voice call for her, and the crunch of small feet on gravel as the child approached the house; her child. The door burst open revealing a rather muddy little boy, with a curly mop of blonde hair.

"Look what I caught with father!" He ran to Sigyn hold a large trout on a line.

"Well! Now I don't have to worry about what to make for dinner!" Sigyn laughed taking the still feebly wriggling fish from Tuomas, and placing it on the counter she had just cleaned.

"I have never seen that boy run so fast." Xaver laughed as he walked through the door, carrying three other fish on a line.

"I guess he was pretty excited."

"I am going to go see aunt Luzia and Marco," Tuomas announced and without waiting for his parent's approval left the house as quickly as he entered it.

"I guess it's lucky you and Luzia had the boys at the same time. Best friends readymade." Xaver laughed, wrapping his arms around Sigyn, which was a little harder lately, given her extremely round pregnant belly.

"She's strong today," He noted as the baby kicked furiously.

"How do you know it's a girl?"

"A little girl, just like you would be perfect. Just hopeful." He pressed a kiss to Sigyn's temple.

* * *

Sigyn tossed and turned that night and her baby followed suit. Figuring there was no point in trying to sleep when a baby as kicking her internal organs, she crept out of bed and down the stairs, careful not to wake Tuomas and Xaver.

The paused in front of the fireplace where the last of the coals were beginning to dim and counted the stones on the left.

"Five up, four to the left." She muttered counting and when she came to the stone she was looking for, she pried it loose from the others, revealing a small bundle.

With a deep sigh, she took it from its hiding place and took it to the table and unwrapped it; she took a minute to look at her reflection in the golden apple while in her other hand she held the pendant with the elegantly twisted snakes. She looked very different than the last time she had held both, she thought.

" _You're back!" Loki said happily when he saw Sigyn approach but his smile faltered when he saw her face, "Oh Sigyn, no…."_

" _I can't." She held the apple and the pendant out to him._

" _Why? You don't belong here!"_

" _I do, now. This is where I belong now, this is my home." She stepped toward him and pressed the items in his hands. "I know us…and I know how much I loved you. But all of it seems like a lifetime ago…and it was. But I am_ here _now, I love Xaver and Luzia, I can't leave them."_

" _Sigyn…" Loki's voice broke._

 _She shook her head, and tangled her hands in his hair and kissed him, causing the stranger to stir to life inside of her, when they broke apart Loki still had his eyes closed, "It is easier for me to suppress her love for you than it would be for me to forget about them with you. Please understand Loki."_

 _He gave a strange jerk of the head that could have been a nod…" And please, Loki, don't come back." Sigyn pressed a kiss to his lips once more and stepped away from him and started back up the path._

" _Wait!"_

 _She paused and heard his footsteps running behind her._

" _Keep them," He said pushing the apple and necklace into her hands._

" _I can't.."_

" _Just keep them, they are yours."_

 _She tried to argue but Loki silenced her with a kiss and with his lips still on her shimmered away…_

 _Xaver was lying awake in bed when Sigyn returned home and said nothing as he held her while the stranger inside her wept and eventually became silent._

* * *

The ground under Sigyn's feet began to shake, something she had only just began to get used too, something the world never seemed to experience until recently. Quickly, she wrapped her possessions back up and shoved them back into the hole in the fireplace, knowing what was coming next.

"Mama! Father!" Tuomas called from his room. She could already hear Xaver groan and his heavy footsteps on the wooden floors above her head. Giving a heavy sigh she trudged slowly up the stairs.

"It's nothing," Xaver comforted the trembling boy.

"That's not what the priest said!"

"What did he say?" Sigyn asked as she sat down on the bed and rubbed the boys back.

"He said that it's a punishment, that one of the gods is being bound in the Earth and each time the earth trembles it's because he is in pain."

Sigyn and Xaver exchanged a glance.

"You know; I've always wondered where these priests get their information." Xaver said lightly, but Sigyn could tell he was thinking the same thing.

"It's true he said! He said the only way the gods could control Loki was to have him bound to a rock, deep in the earth, with an enormous snake to guard him!"

"Those are just stories," Sigyn said.

"And quick ones at that, this strangeness only just happened, how priests can have concocted this story so quickly is beyond me."

"But!"

"Shhhh we will stay here until you fall asleep." Which didn't take as long as she thought, as the little boy's eyes fluttered closed, she and Xaver slipped from his room.

"It's all just a story right?" He asked as they crawled into bed.

She wanted to tell him it was, but as she settled into his arms she knew that that Loki would not have gone back to Asgard quietly, and wondered what he had done this time to earn such a punishment.

* * *

 _I was really torn writing this ending. I may write an alternate ending but, for now, this is how it is. I mean really...would it really be a punishment if she went home with him? Thank you to everyone who followed this story and left reviews, it means more than I can ever express._


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